Monday, January 5, 2015

Just Do It, Already!

by Geraud Staton

It's the time of New Year's Resolutions. It's also Monday, so any new programs are likely to get started today. You're going to talk these big plans up. You're going to brag about your soon-to-have accomplishments to your friends and co-workers. And you SHOULD. Nothing helps you get to your goals like sharing them and having others hold you accountable.

But you can talk all day, plan all day, wish all day. But in the end, so what??? In the words of Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try."

Want words from someone that isn't a fictional character? How about this:

You can always tell what any individual WANTS MOST by what he (or she) DOES. The man who thinks he wants a thing or wishes he wanted it talks about getting it, envies those who have it and plans to start doing something about it. But the man who really WANTS a thing GOES AFTER it, sacrifices his leisure, his pleasures and sometimes love itself—and GETS it.

How many times have you heard someone say, "I would do anything to lose this last 5 pounds," only to run through the drive-thru a few hours later for a combo meal? Have you sworn that you want to get out of debt more than anything in the world, only to go out with your pals a couple nights later and spend $50 on drinks and wings while that debt you supposedly hate is still sitting there?

Hey, there is no problem with this, as long as you know it's true. Maybe the thing you want most in this world is a poor man's leisure. Maybe you don't really care about that debt, or the health, or helping the homeless or giving your kid the best possible education. It's not that you don't care at all. It's just not the thing you care about most in this world. And that's ok.

But I suspect that those people who are reading this don't feel that way. Perhaps you've been suckered into the "Complaint Society" and just want to gripe like the rest of the world. Or, maybe you are trying to keep up with your neighbor or you're trying to keep your spouse entertained. The world is full of things that will keep you from the path you've chosen.

But imagine how entertained your spouse will be if you actual acquire that financial freedom in a few years. Yes, you will have sacrificed a few movie nights or a shopping spree or that trip to Italy this year, but in exchange you have a lifetime of movie nights, shopping sprees and trips to wherever you want to go! Get healthy and your quality of life goes up dramatically. Put that money away for your kid's college fund and watch her alter the world for millions of people.

Talk about it all you want. Tell the world your plans. Yell it from the mountains!

Then, at the very least, sacrifice your leisure for it.

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Quote from "How to Analyze People on Sight" by Ralph Paine Benedict and Elsie Lincoln Benedict